Thousands rallied again on Friday in Georgia to demand the prosecution of ministers fired in a prison abuse scandal.

The protests, sparked by graphic videos showing guards in the Gldani prison in Tbilisi brutally beating prisoners and raping them with truncheons and broom handles, have ratcheted up the pressure on President Mikhail Saakashvili.

He has sought to contain the damage by sacking prison bosses but, despite that, protesters increased their demands as rallies went into a third day.

They inisted that Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaya and others be brought to justice.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered overnight outside Gldani, stopping several prison vans and asking prisoners inside whether they had been abused.

Protesters also gathered outside another prison in the city of Rustavi.